Life & Arts

Hanaseru Share Honya Tomarigi in Chigasaki, Kanagawa prefecture, has a cozy Japanese-style room where people can mingle after shopping. (Photo by Shuntaro Nimura)
Retail

Shared bookstores let bibliophiles meet owners with a passion

Low initial costs help renters of shelves sell their favorite books easily

19 March 2023
Toei Kyoto Studio Park operates as a theme park, but it is also widely used as movie sets when filming. (Photo by Yasunori Okamura)
Media & Entertainment

Samurai movie business still alive and well in Kyoto

Former capital has never lost its looks or charm for top film studios

19 March 2023
Chinese customers pose in Thai student uniforms at the Sriphan store. (Photo from Sriphan's Facebook page)
Travel & Leisure

Thai school uniform boom in China fuels hope for tourism recovery

Social media post by Chinese actress starts cosplay trend among visitors

19 March 2023
Carved from a single piece of wood, "boat lutes" are plucked string instruments with hollowed bodies that look something like the dugout canoes used on Borneo's waterways by indigenous inhabitants. (Courtesy of Gindung Mc Feddy Simon)
Arts

Bringing Borneo's unique 'boat lutes' in tune with 21st century

Artists and researchers team up to save endangered musical tradition

17 March 2023
Young people drink coffee at a local coffee shop in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Business Spotlight

Vietnam's coffee culture survives 10 years of Starbucks

Deep history, popularity of local brews make country hard for global brands to crack

17 March 2023
Marologa Bhavan, a South Asian restaurant located in suburban Tokyo's Nakano ward, is part of Tokyo's rich culinary mosaic. (All photos by Melinda Joe)
Tea Leaves

Small is beautiful but perilously fragile in Tokyo's dining scene

Tiny food outlets struggle to survive but form the backbone of a celebrated food culture

15 March 2023
Director Kartiki Gonsalves, left, and producer Guneet Monga pose with their Oscars for "The Elephant Whisperers," which won best documentary short.
Arts

Academy Award win highlights Indian documentaries

One Indian production wins Oscar, while another was in competition

15 March 2023
Ito-Yokado founder Masatoshi Ito in 1996. (Photo obtained by Nikkei)
Obituaries

Ito-Yokado founder was cautious merchant who dared to save 7-Eleven

Masatoshi Ito turned family shop into retail group with $74bn in sales

15 March 2023
Michelle Yeoh shows off her best actress Oscar in Beverly Hills, California, on March 13.
Arts

Michelle Yeoh's long journey to Academy Awards triumph

Ballet was Malaysian actress' first passion but injury forced change of direction

14 March 2023
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Food & Beverage

Japan's wine country takes the road to the deep north

Climate change opens up new regional possibilities for vineyards

12 March 2023
A restored traditional Japanese house that was built in Taipei during the Japanese rule of Taiwan.
Arts

Preserving Japanese houses from colonial era in Taipei's Showacho

Japanese-style wooden houses embody Taiwan's checkered history

11 March 2023
The stone garden at Kishiwada Castle, near Osaka, replicates a scene from an ancient Chinese battle. (All photos by Stephen Mansfield)
Arts

Calculated art of contemporary Japanese gardens

At its most radical, modern landscaping plays down ancient reverence for natural elements

10 March 2023
In addition to calling for Taiwanese independence, Koo Kwang-ming, pictured here in 2004, advocated strong ties with Japan, where he lived for over two decades.
Obituaries

Koo Kwang-ming, tireless advocate for Taiwanese independence, dies at 96

He criticized the DPP government for moderating its stance in recent years

9 March 2023
Vietnamese pop singer Hoang Thuy Linh's song "See Tinh" has gone viral on TikTok, with people around the world from Ecuador to the Philippines uploading videos of themselves dancing to the infectious tune. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by TikTok Vietnam and the LEADER Entertainment Vietnam)
Tea Leaves

Mysterious algorithms help Vietnam TikTok hit go global

'See Tinh' is fun but endless internet scroll teaches us it's bad to be bored

8 March 2023
The Japanese photographer Kai Fusayoshi at Kyoto's Galerie Miyawaki on the occasion of his mini-retrospective exhibition there in October 2022. (Photo by Edward M. Gomez)
Arts

Photographer is preserving Kyoto's past -- and, urgently, his own

Kai Fusayoshi captured city's soul on film, only to see much of his precious archive go up in flames

8 March 2023
Deepika Padukone, seen as Queen Rani Padmavati on the poster for the 2018 Bollywood hit, "Padmavaat."
The Big Story

Bollywood's gender revolution: Women are rewriting the rules

Exclusive Nikkei data analysis points to slow but significant change in India's prolific film industry

8 March 2023
Bosendorfer's showroom in Vienna. Most of the Austrian company's pianos are priced at $150,000 or higher. (Photo courtesy of Yamaha)
Arts

Yamaha and Bosendorfer find harmony over 15-year partnership

Austrian piano maker helps Japanese parent win over Western venues, performers

5 March 2023
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Travel & Leisure

The top 10 Japanese hotels for architectural excellence

Discover artistic accommodations designed by prominent Japanese architects

4 March 2023
In "Winning by Process," the authors argue that the proliferation of ethnic claims in Myanmar, far from reducing the hegemony of the ethnic Burman majority, helped to strengthen it. (Source photos from authors, Reuters)
Books

Book review: Lessons from Myanmar's failed peace process

'Winning By Process' shows how the state manipulated dialogue to its advantage

3 March 2023
Kimono-clad children walk along a road lined with cherry blossoms in the central Japanese city of Ichinomiya after their elementary school graduation ceremony in March 2021. Global warming appears to be causing cherry trees to flower earlier than usual. 
Tea Leaves

Is climate change killing the haiku?

Loss of distinct seasons threatens traditional Japanese culture

1 March 2023
Bangkok-born and British-educated writer Tew Bunnag works with hospices and hospitals dealing with patients facing end-of-life issues, so perhaps it is natural that redemption and healing are two themes of "Slow Steps to Love," his latest novel.  (All photos courtesy of Tew Bunnag)
Books

Books: 'Slow steps' to healing Thailand

Portraying an unequal society, Tew Bunnag spiritually unites rich and poor

1 March 2023
A ski resort in Beijing. New indoor ski areas and resorts are popping up around the country.
Travel & Leisure

Skiing is hot in China -- even indoors -- on Olympic boom

New resorts planned in Shanghai and Shenzhen as public embraces winter sports

1 March 2023
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Life

Five of Hong Kong's best sustainable restaurants

City's leading chefs put a delicious spin on environmental friendliness

25 February 2023
Tourists enjoy the views of Luang Prabang from a bamboo bridge, constructed every year during the dry season over the Nam Khan River in the charming UNESCO heritage town. (All photos by Ron Gluckman)
Life

Luang Prabang ready for return to halcyon days

Laotian town was a top destination before COVID, but recovery is slow

24 February 2023
Hsing Yun, the Taiwan-based founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist monastic order, supported calls for China and Taiwan to "peacefully unify" and encouraged a reconciliation between Beijing and the exiled Tibetan government. 
Obituaries

Buddhist leader Hsing Yun wooed Beijing to access China

Venerated monk's politics were increasingly anachronistic in modern Taiwan

23 February 2023